2010-11 Premier League: Match day 1
Blackpool announced their top-flight arrival in stunning style by trouncing Wigan as Chelsea routed West Brom, James Milner fired Aston Villa to victory and Tottenham drew with Manchester City. Birmingham hit back from 2-0 down to draw with 10-man Sunderland, Blackburn overcame Everton, Wolves defeated Stoke and Bolton played out a stalemate with Fulham. Marlon Harewood's brace had Blackpool in Premier League dreamland as Ian Holloway's men confounded the critics as they romped to a 4-0 success at Wigan where Latics goalkeeper Chris Kirkland had an afternoon to forget. The Seasiders had been widely expected to be cannon-fodder in the top flight after their promotion via the play-offs but needed just 16 minutes to make their mark among the elite through Gary Taylor-Fletcher before new signing Harewood bagged two in five minutes ahead of the interval. Alex Baptiste's hopeful cross confounded Kirkland at his near post to complete the scoring and send Blackpool briefly top of the fledgling table, in a match which also marked the return to action of referee Mark Halsey following a spell away from the game as he battled against throat cancer. Chelsea began the defence of their Premier League title in fine style with a thumping 6-0 victory over a West Brom side who were severely punished for their defensive generosity. Former Blues favourite Roberto Di Matteo was granted a warm reception on his return to Stamford Bridge only to see his side dismantled with Didier Drogba helping himself to a hat-trick, Florent Malouda bagging a brace and Frank Lampard also finding the net. Aston Villa started life after Martin O'Neill with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Avram Grant's West Ham as James Milner, whose anticipated exit for Manchester City played a key role in his former manager's departure, completed the scoring. Caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald elected to name the England international in his starting XI and was rewarded with a fine left-foot finish after the break with Stewart Downing and Stiliyan Petrov having put the hosts in control. Joe Hart produced a superb display to deny Tottenham after being handed the Manchester City goalkeeping gloves ahead of Shay Given. Roberto Mancini put his faith in the young England international and was fully rewarded, but will be concerned that the rest of his expensively-assembled squad failed to fire in a 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane. Birmingham hit back from 2-0 down to draw with 10-man Sunderland at the Stadium of Light as Scott Dann headed through Simon Mignolet's legs before the goalkeeper was again rooted to his line in the closing moments as Liam Ridgewell bundled home two minutes from time. Darren Bent had picked up where he left off last season by firing the home side into an early lead from the penalty spot, before the Black Cats were reduced to 10 men when Lee Cattermole was dismissed before the interval. Stephen Carr then scored a comical own goal in the 56th minute, looping a header over Ben Foster from the edge of his own box under pressure from Fraizer Campbell. David Jones scored a stunning goal from a sublime free-kick routine to set Wolves on their way to victory over Stoke, with Steven Fletcher bundling home a second soon after before Abdoulaye Faye powered in a header after the break. The Potters endured a miserable afternoon at Molineux with club record signing Kenwyne Jones, who had rattled the bar in the opening exchanges, limping out of the action in obvious pain with an apparent ankle injury just 14 minutes into his debut before joining his team-mates on the bench with the aid of crutches. Tim Howard's astonishing blunder gifted Blackburn victory at Ewood Park as the Everton goalkeeper inexplicably spilled the ball in the 14th minute, allowing Nikola Kalinic to slot home. New Fulham manager Mark Hughes watched his side claim a point from his first match in charge as the Cottagers drew 0-0 with Bolton at the Reebok Stadium. As far as Premier League debuts go, Roy Hodgson could not have asked for a more difficult game than one against Arsenal at Anfield. A fixture that has been littered with goals in recent seasons, and despite the fact that Chelsea and Manchester United probably represent a tougher challenge Liverpool just can't seem to beat the Gunners at home. Today's game was no different as Arsenal started the better of the two sides, dominating possession and the play in the first half. Reina pulled off one superb save to deny Vermaelen early on. Liverpool had their chances as well with Johnson's shot brilliantly saved by Almunia before Ngog's effort was cleared off the line. Liverpool were dealt a massive blow though when Joe Cole was given a straight red card for a reckless tackle on Koscielny in first half stoppage time. The decision was harsh and Koscielny's dramatic exit on a stretcher would have made even Didier Drogba proud (the defender returned fit as a fiddle after the break) Liverpool came out firing on all cylinders though and took the lead two minutes after the restart through young French striker David Ngog. Javier Mascherano played the ball into his path and Ngog finished in emphatic fashion as he blasted the ball past the hopeless Almunia at his near post to hand the Red's a 1-0 lead. Liverpool defended valiantly and with great resilience as they kept the Arsenal attack at bay until the very last minutes of the match when the Gunners got an equaliser thanks to Repe Reina's howler in stoppage time. Reina who pulled off some great saves to keep Arsenal at bay was to blame for the equaliser as Maroune Chamakh steered Rosicky's cross against the post, only for Reina to guide the ball into the net for an embarrassing own goal. Koscielny was also sent off in stoppage time after picking up a second yellow. No strecther was required this time though. A disappointing end to the game for Liverpool who looked like starting the new campaign with a win over one of the so-called Big Four. Not overly impressed by the performance today but Liverpool showed great spirit to play with 10 men for most of the match and Hodgson will be pleased with that. I suspect that Arsenal will also be happy snatching a point when defeat looked the most likely outcome. Manchester United got their new campaign off to a winning start after a comfortable 3-0 win against Newcastle united at Old Trafford last night. United’s win was inspired by a master-class performance by one of United’s golden oldies, Paul Scholes, after the midfielder set up Berbatov to open the scoring after 33 minutes. Darren Fletcher then doubled their lead four minutes before the break when Darren Fletcher scored from close range. Newcastle were clearly outclassed by United but the game could have turned out completely different if Andy Caroll’s showed more composure with his header after the Newcastle striker headed wide from 4 yards out with just 10 minutes on the clock. United saved their best goal for last though as Paul Scholes showed his class by picking out Ryan Giggs with a 30-yard pass, to which the Welshman replied in kind by firing a sweet volley past Harper from the edge of the box five minutes from time. Match Details Saturday August 14, 2010 ---- Petrov Milner | goals2 = | stadium = Villa Park, Birmingham | attendance = 36,604 | referee = Mike Dean }} ---- | goals2 = | stadium = Ewood Park, Blackburn | attendance = 25,869 | referee = Phil Dowd }} ---- ---- (Pen) Carr (O.G) | goals2 = Dann Ridgewell | stadium = Stadium of Light, Sunderland | attendance = 38,390 | referee = A Taylor }} ---- Herewood Baptiste | stadium = DW Stadium, Wigan | attendance = 16,152 | referee = Mark Halsey }} ---- Fletcher | goals2 = Faye | stadium = Molineux, Wolverhampton | attendance = 27,850 | referee = Lee Probert }} ---- Drogba Lampard | goals2 = | stadium = Stamford Bridge, London | attendance = 41,589 | referee = Mark Clattenburg }} ---- Sunday August 15, 2010 | goals2 = Reina (o.g) | stadium = Anfield, Liverpool | attendance = 44,722 | referee = Martin Atkinson }} ---- Monday August 16, 2010 Fletcher Giggs | goals2 = | stadium = Old Trafford, Manchester | attendance = | referee = }} ---- League table after Match day 1 Also See *Premier League External links and references *2010-11 Premier League fixtures at Eurosport Category:2010-11 Premier League results